Story Telling
by battlingbard
Summary: Short fluffy oneshot :D


It had took some getting used to the pregnancy, but Xena had adjusted. Gabrielle still seemed a bit distant when it came to her being pregnant for some weeks now, and it had started to bother Xena. That is until one night when she was awoken by the sound of Gabrielle's voice.

"You know me and your momma, we go way back." Gabrielle had laid down on her belly, with her head next to Xena's stomach. "You were quite the surprise!" She said and chuckled to herself as she absentmindedly rubbed the baby bump.

"I wouldn't change it for anything though." The blonde said a bit more softly. "Okay, story time." She said, with a smile on her face. Xena didn't know it but Gabrielle had been telling stories to the little bump for a few weeks now. Anything from their own adventures to fairy tales, the bard would take her time talking to the baby. Xena's seemed to sleep a lot more soundly due to the pregnancy, so she hadn't even heard her, until now that is.

Gabrielle adjusted a bit, laying her head down next to Xena's stomach as she began her tale.

"Once there was a girl. This girl had went her entire life searching, and it seemed as though she would never find what she was looking for, even though she herself didn't even know what she was looking for. She had grown up being the girl that talked to much, and not many people paid much attention to. She feared that she would end up doing the same thing that everyone else did. Get married to the first man that proposes, raise children and be the typical wife and mother. She was terrified that she would never find happiness, find love. This girl had written many stories about love, but sadly never experienced it herself."

Xena listened intently, not daring to make a sound. She couldn't believe that Gabrielle was doing this and just hearing her talk to the baby made her heart swell. She smiled sadly at the story Gabrielle was telling, the brunette had surprisingly never heard it before. She watched the bard as she told her story. The blonde was so engrossed in telling the story that she didn't notice Xena watching her.

"You see, she had dreams. Many dreams, and they all seemed so out of reach for this young girl. That is until one day, her dreams came true. She wasn't quite aware of them at that moment, but they did. That was the day she met her soul mate. Some bad, bad people came into her village and had wanted to hurt her and all of the other girls in this village. The girl, of course, wanted to try and do the right thing. That meant standing up to these men. That didn't go too well at first though." She said, frowning.

Xena's smile grew even broader as she realized what Gabrielle was talking about. The day they met… of course! But still, she didn't say anything, letting the bard continue her story.

"This small girl tried to stand up to the bad people, but the bad people were having none of it. That's when this hero stepped in. Well, she didn't know she was a hero yet but still! Anyways, the hero stepped in and saved all of the women in the girl's village. The girl was intrigued with this dark hero who she felt oddly connected to. That's when she decided to follow her around, which the hero didn't like that much at first."

Gabrielle leaned in closer to Xena's stomach and whispered, "I think the hero secretly liked the fact that the girl was following her around though, but that's just between me and you." She rubbed the baby bump lovingly.

"Where was I? Oh! Yes, ok. So that's how the girl was saved, and how her dreams came true. It took a few years but the two of them realized that they were in love, but that's a story for another time. How bout I tell you that one tomorrow night?" she asked, then kissed the little bump.

Crawling up and laying down in the bedrolls, she wrapped her arms around Xena.

"That was beautiful." Xena said, a bit teary eyed.

Gabrielle started slightly at the sudden sound, then looked up at Xena. "You're awake? How long?"

"The whole time." She said, grinning at the blonde then looking away. "I was afraid you weren't as happy as I was with the whole pregnancy thing." She said softly, causing Gabrielle to hold onto her a bit more tightly.

"Oh no! Gods no. I think this baby is a wonderful miracle." She said, rubbing Xena's stomach once again. "I'm just happy to be a part of it. I'm sorry that you ever thought those things." She said frowning. "I've just been a bit in my head I guess. What are we going to do after she's born?"

"She?" she asked, giving Gabrielle a lop-sided smile.

Gabrielle blushed a little bit and looked down. "Yes, she. I don't know why but I really feel like it's going to be a girl."

Xena pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "So do I."

"What are we going to do though? Are we going to settle down? And if we do, where at? Will we go live with your mother? Or live with the Amazons? Also, if we do settle down, what will we do? We've never really stayed in one place for a long time before, and if we don't settle-

Xena put her finger to Gabrielle's lips, effectively stopping her ranting.

"That's why you've been so quiet and distant lately? You've been worried?"

All Gabrielle did was nod, Xena finger still over her mouth.

The brunette felt as if a giant weight had lifted off of her shoulders. She started to laugh out of relief, "Gods, Gabrielle!"

Gabrielle pulled Xena's hand away from her mouth, her cheeks reddening a bit "What?!"

"You had me scared to death thinking you didn't want her!" she said, still laughing then she calmed down a bit, a serious look coming about her face. "You're going to be a great mother."

"Really?" The bard asked a bit shyly, "What makes you think that?"

"Well look at you already! Telling stories to her, she can learn a lot from you."

"You think so?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Xena's stomach as she put her head on her shoulder.

"I know so." Xena bent her head down, kissing Gabrielle's head, who sighed happily in return.

"You'll make a great mother too, you know."

"I sure hope so." Xena sighed, looking up at the sky. "We should probably get some sleep." She yawned, still not quite used to being pregnant again.

"Okay." Gabrielle said sleepily, then after a moment she asked, "Xena?"

"Yeah Gabrielle?"

"I love you."

Xena couldn't help but grin and wonder how she ever got so lucky. "I love you too."


End file.
